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Church & State

‘Faith-based’ Pregnancy Centers Get Fla. State Funding

October2010AU Bulletin

Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Florida have been receiving taxpayer subsidies to distribute inaccurate anti-abortion information to women, according to a recent report.

The Florida centers are funded by the state through the Florida Pregnancy Support Services Program and managed by the Department of Health. Former Gov. Jeb Bush issued an executive order that launched the program on Nov. 4, 2004, and initial contracts were awarded to various groups to manage the clinics.

The Florida Independent reported that the Pregnancy Care Network received more than $3.27 million in state grants in 2006, 2007 and 2008 to manage 55 centers that have distributed anti-abortion information to women over the years.

Five of the centers are run by Respect Life Ministry, which is affiliated with the Catholic Archdiocese of Miami. The centers exist “to uphold the sanctity and dignity of all human life from conception to natural death.”